


On the other side

by madmana (woelfchen)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Geoff/Griffon, Tags to be added along the way, dystopia au, parental!Geoff, parental!Griffon, young!Gavin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 06:23:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1768909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woelfchen/pseuds/madmana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was one thing that Gavin Free's parents had always told him.<br/>Whatever you do, Gavin, whatever happens. Don't go wandering around near the closed district. There is a reason why it is closed after all. The people that live there, they're filthy and have about every disease known to man. Don't go to the closed district.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
There was one thing that Gavin Free's parents had always told him. _Whatever you do, Gavin, whatever happens. Don't go wandering around near the closed district. There is a reason why it is closed after all. The people that live there, they're filthy and have about every disease known to man. Don't go to the closed district._  
  
His parent's words repeated in his head over and over while Gavin pounded onto the thick iron gate, separating the closed district from the wealthy part of the city where Gavin came from. He sobbed bitterly, thick tears streaming down his cheeks and the noises that escaped his mouth would embarrass him in front of his friends. But they weren't here, so he had no reason to hold in the howling cries as he called for his parents, for a guard, anybody that would let him out of this misery.  
  
  
The twelve year old had just been curious, just wanted to peek over the wall that surrounded the forbidden district. He wanted to see the people that lived there, just one look at the tiny houses, made out of wood, stones, metal scrapes - everything they could find. He wanted to know what they dressed like, the diseased people, if their children had to wear scratchy shirts with crocheted collars like he did, or if they just looked different in general.  
  
There was one place in the city, where the wall wasn't 5 meters high, because there was a hill leading up to it. It was just 2 meters, but a crate standing right under it made it possible to pull yourself up, if you could jump up a little and got your hands on the ledge.  
Gavin had made it, surprisingly he managed to pull himself up a little and swing one leg over the bricks, so he could actually sit on the wall. The view fascinated him, it was like looking into another world entirely. The streets weren't smooth and colorful but bumpy, made off cobblestones and dirt. The houses stood side by side, sharing walls, not leaving any space between them, instead of the usual wide stretched places with chairs and potted plants. It was as if the world was drained off all color, grey and brown tones dominating the district.  
There weren't any people around though, either they all were holed into their houses - if you could even call them that - or they were off, working at some place. Gavin really couldn't be sure, but it was evident that people at least lived there. Clothes were hanging from strings that were attached to the roofs of the houses, somewhere was a baby crying, and there was smoke coming from the chimneys of some of the houses. There must be some sort of technology that kept the smoke away from the nice parts of the city - you couldn't smell it nor could you see the blackened clouds from anyplace. It must go along with the technology that kept the noises drowned out. Gavin could hear tinkering noises in the distance, something that sounded like metal that was hitting metal, dogs barking and cats hissing, a few minutes later a person yelled something. A lot of noises, many of them unknown to Gavin's socially well off ears, kept coming from the trapped district - and it drew him in.  
He leant closer and closer, fascinated by the different lifestyle, almost to the point of loosing his balance. But he kept his hands securely clamped around the wall, he couldn't afford to fall down. The iron gates never opened, after all.  
  
Gavin spent a good half an hour idly sitting on the wall, watching the district and taking every single detail in. He compared absolutely everything with the rest of the city. It was so different, nothing at all like he was used to. It took a while until a couple of women walked by, each one shooting him dirty looks as he was humming contently, his legs jumping a little. He was pleased that he finally got to see the people of the district. They were thinner than most of the people Gavin knew, more dirty and less handsome. Their skin seemed to be oddly rough, but from the distance, Gavin couldn't tell for sure. He'd rather not find out at all - touching the diseased people wasn't high on his agenda. He had been good, payed attention in school and knew that some of the diseases could even be transmitted through the air - so coming near them was absolutely out of question.  
They wore a mix of clothes, nothing really matching, but they still managed to make it look matched. There were patches sewed onto the fabric, covering holes, some rips in the texture had been fixed with decorative, colorful stitches. It was strange but not in an altogether bad way. Also, Gavin noticed that the women wore pants and skirts and dresses alike - there seemed not to be a specific way they dressed. Back at home, his mother almost always wore beautiful dresses, sometimes skirts, but never pants. A lot of women that were friends with his parents dressed like that, Gavin couldn't even remember last seeing a woman in pants. Now, he wondered if men in the closed district could wear skirts and dresses if they wanted to. He chuckled lightly at the thought and started jiggling his legs again. It was just so odd.  
  
He wasn't sure what it was that made Gavin fall down the wall in the end. There was a loud banging noise in front of him that made him jump a little and yelling behind him. The two things were not connected at all - couldn't, because the cit couldn't hear the district. It were some boys, yelling at him to get back down to where he came from, a few of them started throwing stones at him. One of them hit him in the shoulder and, together with the shock from the explosion nearby, Gavin lost his balance. He fell down the wall in front of him, suddenly realizing that there wasn't a hill on this side of the wall, so he had to take the full 5 meters of fall. Gavin managed to land on his hands and knees, avoiding slamming his head onto either the floor or the brickwall behind him. There was nothing to cushion the fall for him, except a small puddle of mud. His arms and legs hurt, but there wasn't a snapping noise, no bones crunching and breaking. But he'd bruise for sure.  
  
  
When the shock had gone away, and the pain in his bones had faded, he fully understood what just happened. He ran along the wall as fast as his aching legs would allow, trying to find the iron gate that was the only way from the district into the city. He then pounded his fists against the dirty metal, hoping that any kind of sound would make it through the barrier. He cried and sobbed, screaming for anybody to open the gate, he even tried to climb up the wall - resulting in him falling on his ass in addition to his already sore limbs. Gavin was desperate enough to even try and dig under the wall, the gate, anything. But he soon had to realize that the wall was embedded deeply into the earth as well.

Hours passed and Gavin kept his place in front of the gate. His yelling and crying had ebbed away as he got exhausted, reducing him to a whimpering, curled up body in front of the gate.  
Never in his whole life had Gavin been so scared. The hours ticked by and the sun went down, but he still hadn't been rescued. Twice, he heard somebody searching for him, calling his name on the other side of the wall. He'd immediately been up again, hammering his tiny fists against the hard metal. He screamed and called "I'm here, I'm Gavin Free, I'm here!", but the technology filtering all the sounds from the district was too strong. They didn't hear him. So he ended up in the dirt, leaning against the wall, falling in and out of sleep. The people walking by scared him, they were so bizarre, each one looking worse than the last one. Being the good boy he was, Gavin covered his nose and mouth each time somebody came too close to him. Don't get sick. Just don't infect with one of their diseases, he told himself.  
  
"Hey, boy.", a voice interrupted his uncomfortable slumber. He looked up and instantly drew back in surprise. The scariest man that he'd ever seen stood in front of him, looking straight at him. The sudden jolt he gave backwards made the back of his head connect with the brickwall rather hard and tears immediately stung in his eyes. But instead of holding the aching spot, he covered up his mouth and nose again.  
The man drew up an eyebrow, looking somewhat worried. "You okay, kid?", he asked, his voice cracking around the edges. Gavin could only stare up at him, his eyes wide with fear. He couldn't even look away, the tired eyes of the man had fixed him in place.  
He sighed and crouched down to eye level with Gavin. "Listen, I've noticed you sitting here earlier. I live right around the corner, I could help you, if you want."  
Quickly, Gavin shook his head. Don't interact with the man. Don't let him touch you. Don't get too close. Try to get away. Gavin scanned his surroundings, looking for a way to escape this unpleasant encounter.  
Once again, the man sighed. "Alright, fine.", he bit out, a bit frustrated. Then he stood back up and left. Gavin breathed in in relief. He felt like he could breathe freely again.  
  
  
The scary man didn't come back again, but Gavin wasn't quite sure if that's supposed to make him feel better. Maybe he had angered him, maybe he was planning something to make Gavin regret his rude behaviour. But Gavin didn't want to leave his spot. If he wanted to be saved, he must stay in a place where his parents could easily find him. Couldn't be easier, could it?  
  
Night came, and Gavin felt horrible. He hadn't had anything to eat except from breakfast, and it had been hours since. He also hadn't had anything to drink, so his throat was dry and he was getting a terrible headache. He curled up into a tight ball, making himself as small as possible. Eventhough he wanted to stay visible, just in case someone came looking for him, he wasn't exactly comfortable being an easy target for the district people. Outcasts, as his parents sometimes called them. Surely, they had noticed his nice clothing and his well kept features, eventhough most of it was covered in dirt by now. The mud from the puddle he landed in earlier had dried and began to fall off in little clumps, leaving behind dirty skin. In addition to that, the warmth of the day had dried out the area, so dust arose from the sandy streets and settled on his slightly sweaty skin and in his hair. Gavin must look as miserable as he felt.  
  
Sleep came, but he was soon interrupted again, this time by a hand that gently touched his shoulder. A woman spoke softly to him: "You must be hungry.", she said.  
Gavin shied away from the touch, once again covering mouth and nose with his hands. He stared up at the blond woman, that was smiling at him warmly. She held out a steaming bowl for him that Gavin eyed suspiciously. "It's soup in a bread bowl.", she explained, patiently holding it out for him to take. She sat on her knees in front of him, but kept a respectful distance to him. She had sensed that Gavin wasn't comfortable around her, so she just waited quietly until he let his hands slowly drop down.  
If he wasn't so hungry, he wouldn't take the offered food. But the day had been hard for him, draining him in every sense. He carefully took the bread bowl out of her hands, curiosity taking the best of him. He'd never seen soup served in a bowl made of bread, but the idea was genius. The bread was thin but hard baked. He'd have to eat it fast though, or else it would get soggy and he'd loose the rest of his meal. He could even eat the bread along with the warm soup, every other bite, if he'd like. The outcasts were truly creative. Well, he guessed, they'd have to be, with their limited resources.  
The woman handed him a wooden spoon. "Don't throw it away, I'd like to have it back, when you are done, okay?", she asked him and Gavin nodded. "Thanks.", he croaked out, his voice hoarse from today's events. She smiled again before she stood up. She patted away the dust that clung to her pants and then walked away.     
  
The soup was surprisingly good. It had a rich taste, small chunks of different vegetables and even some beef. There weren't many spices used, but the ones that Gavin tasted complimented the rest of the flavor smoothly. Once again, Gavin was amazed by the cleverness of the outcasts. They truly knew how to make the best out of the bare minimum.  
Also, the spoon the woman gave him was something unique. The concave part of it was pretty normal, but the rest of it was prettily carved with tiny vines and flowers, probably roses, but they weren't accurate in a botanical sense. They were romanticized, like you would find them in a book. He wondered where the woman got it from.  
  
  
She didn't return that evening, so Gavin fell back asleep out at the wall. The night was incredibly cold, so he woke up early in the morning, the sun wasn't even up yet. The sky was lightening up, though. To keep himself warm, he started pacing in circles, kept moving until the sun came up again. People started getting up, working in their tiny houses and walking to their workplaces somewhere else in the district.  
A lot of people passed him, directing dirty looks his way as they did the day before. Gavin moved around, up and down the wall for a couple of hours, just walking up and down within sight of the gate that kept him from going home. He could just hope that his parents weren't giving up on him and kept searching him. Eventually, they would get him out of here.  
  
The people of the district had finished their morning routine and gone to their workplaces and finally, finally cleared out of the streets again. Then, the friendly woman returned to him. She approached him cautiously, once again stopping several feet away from him. "So, you're still here, huh?", she asked him with a smile tugging at her lips. Gavin held out the spoon for her to take, his fist shaking a little. The other hand was covering his mouth, and he didn't dare breathing in through his nose.  
She stepped closer, taking the small item from him. "Today's supposed to get very hot. Do you have any water nearby?", the blonde asked him. He shook his head no, looking around alarmed. The woman sighed. "I'll get you some. But I'd like you better hurrying home, your parent's must be worried."  
That was enough for Gavin to tear up again. The young boy started sobbing, his hands flew up to his eyes, rubbing the tears away forcefully. The woman crouched down again, gently tugging at his wrists. Gavin couldn't shy away, to occupied with shaking and whining. "I want my Mum and Dad.", he got out between two deep sobs.  
The woman patted his shoulders and rubbed his back. "Hush, boy, it's okay. We can find your parents, okay? Do you know where they live?", she asked, worry lacing her words. Gavin nodded and the woman smiled. "Where do they live? I can bring you there, okay?"  
Gavin swallowed down a gobfull of sobs, but he didn't get any words out. Instead, he just turned to the side slightly and pointed at the iron gate.  
  
The woman's face fell. "You're from the other side? How did you get in here?", she asked, drawing back from him slightly. Gavin started shaking again. Now the woman hated him. "I fell.", he whispered, afraid to drive her away even further. He didn't know why, but he had taken a liking to the woman quickly and didn't want her to dislike him. Probably because she cared when nobody else did.  
She sat back on her heels, taking him Gavin's attire. She noticed the clothes he wore, though covered in mud they were still of superior quality. The skin beneath it, though now dirty, was smooth without a trace of physical labor. There was no doubt where Gavin came from. She sighed. "I'll get you some water.", she declared and turned away from him.  
  
Gavin was still crying when she returned. She placed a big bottle full of water in the dirt next to him and sat down in front of him. "Here's the deal. You tell me how exactly you got over the wall, and I'll get you something to eat as well. Okay?", she demanded more than she asked. Gavin agreed and told her everything, beginning with the way everyone made him curious about the district, to the crate on the hill, to sitting and observing, to somebody throwing something at him and finally to ending up in this very spot.  
"I'm waiting here, until they pick me up.", he ended his little speech and the woman nodded. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she thought something over in her head. "Okay. I'm gonna come and look for you later, okay?", she asked him after a while when she handed him two slices of bread with cheese that she had covered in some paper and hid in her pocket.  
Gavin nodded, taking the food gratefully. He took his first bite, not even afraid of poison, like he'd been with the soup the day before. He just dug in, suddenly aware of his dependence on this woman.  
The blonde stood up and walked a couple of steps away, before she stopped in her tracks and turned back to him. "What's your name, by the way?", she asked him.  
"Gavin Free. Who are you?", He replied, aware of his rude tone. The woman didn't mind though. "I'm Griffon.", she said and walked away. A different direction, Gavin noticed. But then he shrugged. She probably had to work somewhere.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

As predicted by Griffon, the day got incredibly hot. Having a spot directly in the sun didn't exactly favor Gavin's current state. So he picked himself up and moved on, searching for some shade under the roofs of the huts lining the street. But soon, the sun moved so far, that he couldn't even get some protection there. The water bottle, though huge, was nearly empty as well, so Gavin was forced to move on, further into the district. At least nobody would cross his way at this time of the day.  
A few streets down, the wall carefully kept in sight, just in case, Gavin found a small open area with a well in the middle. A bucket hung in it's middle, hold up by a thick rope. The young boy figured out quickly how to work it, but it seemed ridiculous to him that the people in the district still used these old technologies. Didn't they have running water in their homes?  
  
The water wasn't exactly clear, but clear enough for him to take a testing sip. If the water was infectious, regardless on the kind of disease, Gavin would gladly endure it, because the water was cool and everything he needed right now. He filled up his bottle, before he returned to the wall. He'd surely come back to the well later in the day.  
  
  
Twice more, Gavin heard a searching squad on the other side of the wall, but regardless on his efforts, they didn't find him. They didn't even considered looking behind the wall. Naturally so, because they were no better than him - grown up in the wealthy part of the city, drilled not to come close to the district. The gate was not to be opened. Once upon a time, Gavin had asked everybody he knew when it had last been opened. Nobody knew for sure, because nobody lived long enough to have witnessed it. But his father had said that it probably hasn't been open, ever. That it was closed off for as long as the wall was standing. Which was about 150 years.  
  
Other than that, the day went by rather slow, dragging from hour to hour, minute to minute. Gavin checked it, glad that he still had the watch his mother gave him for his last birthday. It was pretty, but well hidden beneath the hem of his shirt - which he now rolled up to the elbows, exposing the simple piece of jewelry. It was just too hot for that kind of proper attire.  
Now that Gavin thought about it, it hadn't ever been this hot in the city itself. Was it cooled down somehow? Or did they - the government, the mayor, whoever was in charge - heat up the district on purpose? Gavin thought about it till his brain hurt. Normally, he would just have asked his mum about it. She was quite a smart woman, having spent most of her youth reading books and educating herself. He really missed her, especially because he knew he wouldn't see her until he was rescued. But, her being smart and all, she could figure out where he was, so he wouldn't give up his hope so soon.  
  
  
It was just 4, when Griffon came to see him. She brought him another bottle of water, but she smiled at him proudly when Gavin explained that he'd found a well. Then she sat down on the ground, right next to him. Gavin didn't even think about scrambling away, even cuddled against her side when she draped an arm over his shoulders to pull him in.  
"I'm sorry you're still here. I'm sure they're looking for you.", she said, an odd sense of sympathy in her tone.  
"They are. I heard somebody on the other side, but - but they didn't hear me."  
Griffon hugged him a bit closer. "They never do."  
  
She stayed close, comforting Gavin when his posture slumped. Gently, she stroked him over his head, weaving her fingers in the now messy hair. Gavin hid his head in her shoulder, wrapping his own arms around her waist. "What if they don't find me?", he mumbled out, afraid of her answer.  
Griffon sighed. "I guess you're staying here, then. But it's okay. We'll help you."  
"Getting home?", Gavin asked, his voice wavering with the hope he was afraid to loose.  
The blonde nodded. She wasn't smiling though, sadness and the knowledge that he was trapped with them darkening her features. Gavin didn't see it though, he was still hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "Of course.", she said quietly.  
The tiny arms around her framed tightened a bit. "Thank you, Griffon.", Gavin mumbled out.  
  
Griffon decided she would stay for a while at Gavin's side to keep him company. They didn't talk much, she just told him a few things about herself. That she carved the spoon herself, for example. Gavin had been amazed, staring at her with wide eyes. "You made that?", he asked disbelievingly. She chuckled softly.  
"We're all working hard, Gavin. I suppose it's different here than where you come from.", she said, her words getting a bit angry at the end.  
Gavin fiddled with his thumbs for a second. "How did you grow up?", he then quietly asked. Griffon drew up her eyebrows as she looked at him. Then she sighed.  
"Well, I grew up like everybody else. As soon as I was old enough to walk and talk, my parents showed me how to work. We learn the basics in cooking, cleaning and sewing, as well as some skills with hammers and saws, and as soon as we're old enough, we're sent out to the craftsmen, so we can learn from them as well. So when I was 9, I knew I wanted to work with the woodcarvers. That's what I ended up doing. I even have a small room for it, in another part of the village."  
"You didn't go to school?", Gavin asked. He couldn't believe it.  
Griffon laughed for a second. "Like I said, the kids growing up here learn everything they know from their parents. Not everybody here can read or write, so their children don't learn it either. Simple math though is something we pick up as soon as we're working. That's important for our shops."  
Gavin just stared at the woman. No words could cover how horrible that sounded to his ears.  
  
  
"So, you went to school then, Gavin?", she asked, nudging his shoulder slightly to get him out of his dumbfounded stupor.  
He eagerly nodded. "Of course! I started when I was 5, and I still have 4 years more.", he said proudly. "But I could read before that. My mum taught me! She's very smart, and she always says that reading is very important. Every person should read at least 1 book every month. But she reads like 6 of them. Sometimes even more."  
He puffed out his chest a little, proud that his mother was such an educated woman.  
Griffon once again thought something through in her head. "I bet you're a very good reader then, right Gavin?", she asked pensively. Gavin nodded. "Of course! I read at least 2 books in a month!", he declared, very proud of himself as well.  
"That's very good, Gavin. Everybody should be able to read, don't you think?", she said.  
"Can you read, Griffon?", he asked, suddenly fearing he insulted her. But she just smiled.  
"I can read, yes. But I don't think I'm as good a reader as you are."  
  
It was true, Griffon had learned how to read, her father and later her employer had insisted that she knew how to read. It was a slow process, nobody really sure enough to teach somebody how to read properly. But since then, she got the basics and even red a book or two since. Writing was harder tough, the letters never seemed to be as precise as her drawings, and she hated the uneven look of her handwriting. She preferred not to write at all.  
  
  
"I bet you're hungry, huh Gavin?", Griffon asked after a while. And it was true, the two slices of bread in the morning hadn't really filled his stomach in the first place, but now he was about starved. "Yeah. I'm really hungry.", he mumbled. He didn't want to ask her for something to eat. She was very thin herself, and he wasn't selfish enough to demand something off her personal stock.  
He ended up not having to ask though. "Do you want to come and eat with us, Gavin?", she offered him, rubbing his shoulder gently.  
Gavin thought about it for a second. Taking food from her when he was hungry was one thing, but going home with a stranger - however friendly she might seem - was something that went against everything that he had been thought by his parents. Well, basically peeking over the wall was even more against the rules - but that wasn't the issue right now. It still was his biggest problem though.  
"I- I'd rather stay here. Just - they could come looking for me.", he mumbled out the first thing that came to his mind. Probably the most plausible thing as well. Griffin rolled her eyes - a very rude gesture, Gavin thought - but she stood up to leave without him. "Okay then. I'll drop something when we're done."  
  
Griffon kept her word. An hour later, she returned to Gavin's spot at the wall and handed him another soup in a bread bowl. A different soup, Gavin noticed. He accepted it gladly, and this time Griffon stayed with him till he was done. She offered once again for him to come home with her, but he declined again. The thought just struck something in him. Like he was accepting his pending fate. He shuddered at the thought.  
  
  
The next few days stayed the same. Gavin kept close to the gate, listening to the conversations right outside of it. He wasn't even mentioned once.  
Griffon came to see him, bringing him food in the mornings and evenings. One morning though, she told him he couldn't make it in the evening, so a friend of hers would come to see him. "He's a real teddy, I promise.", she said with a smile. That evening, he first met Jack. He had an impressive beard for his actual young years. Gavin hadn't trusted him at first, but when he introduced himself as a friend of Griffons, he opened up to him a little. Jack stayed around for a few minutes, keeping him company while Gavin ate what he brought with him. He told Gavin that he was good at building houses, so he one day left his parents to live on his own, in a house he built without the help of others.  
It impressed Gavin, even more so when he learned that Jack was only a little over 20.  
But what Jack told him next, threw him off completely. "You know, I have a kid about your age. I think you two would get along."  
"You have a kid my age?", Gavin asked shrilly. This was just getting ridiculous. That was just not possible, regardless how you'd look at it.  
"Yes, I do. Well, he's not really my kid, but he's my son nonetheless. He moved in with me, when I first moved in the new house. His name's Ray.", Jack explained.  
  
Gavin slowly nodded, thinking just how odd it was nonetheless. How could such a young man take care of a child his age? It didn't make much sense to him. But he didn't question it either, seeing that everything in the district was different from what he knew from the city.  
"If you want to, you can come with me right now, and you can meet.", Jack offered, but that was the last straw for Gavin. An uneasy feeling settled in his guts and he drew back from the stranger considerably. "I think I'll stay here.", he said quietly.  
Jack realized his mistake immediately. "Oh - I mean you don't have to. I'm not forcing you or anything. I just thought you might enjoy the company of somebody your age. They said you've here all by yourself for quite a while now."  
But Gavin didn't responded anything. He just shrugged away from him, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He lowered his head onto his right knee, keeping his gaze on Jack cautiously.  
Jack sighed. "I get it. You want to stay here. That's okay. I'm gonna go home now.", he said, dragging out the words in defeat. He had tried his best, but failed in the end.

 

* * *

 

  
On the eights day of Gavin camping out at the iron gate in the closed district, a storm hit the city. The pouring rain drenched Gavin's clothes within seconds, cold wind cutting through it to his skin like a knife through butter. And if that alone wasn't bad enough, it soon enough started to hail. Gavin started running, searching for some sort of shelter, at least until the storm had passed. He really wished he'd taken Griffon's offer to go to her home, so that at lease he'd knew where it was. Surely, she wouldn't mind letting him stay for a short amount of time now.  
He ended up in a weird niche between two houses that was semicovered by a roof. Cold water was still dripping down on him, but just an occasional thick droplet. And the wind didn't chase him anymore. He'd be just fine in here.  
  
  
Of course, Gavin got sick. He felt worse then ever, he was simultaneously hot and cold, his head hurt, along with his throat, stomach and all the joints in his limbs. He barely made it back in his position in front of the gate, and he was amazed that the cold took hold of him so quickly. But then again, the storm didn't stop for a few hours at least, and Gavin had been outside the whole time. His drenched clothes sticked to his skin where it couldn't hang down, his frame had thinned throughout the week considerably.  
He must have fallen asleep in a puddle in front of the wall, because the next thing he realized, was that somebody shook his shoulders somewhat violently and he was still wet. There was also a voice, but it sounded far away, as if somebody spoke through a huge ball of cotton candy. Or milk. Wait, did that even made sense?  
  
Slowly, his eyes focused on a person in front of him, and vaguely, Gavin recognized Griffon's face. He gave her a weak smile that she didn't see. She was looking to the side, talking to a person next to her. Gavin's head lolled to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the person, but he couldn't focus before his eyes closed again and it was to much effort to open them again. Then, there was a warm pair of hands sliding under his arms and lifting him up. He was repositioned, now carried in a strong pair of arms, pressed against a chest. His ear was pressed right against it, and he could hear the soft thumping of a heart underneath it. How nice it sounded. He cuddled closer to it.  
  
  
When he awoke next, he was warm and comfy. He wasn't aware that he'd passed out again, but right now, he might have died and gone to a better place. Darkness surrounded him, but that might just be the case because his eyes were still closed. He tried to blink them open, but with no such luck.  
"Hey, buddy. You awake?", a voice asked him, and he was surprised how clearly he could hear it but couldn't place it. He turned his head slightly into the direction it came from. "Stay here, okay? I'm gonna go, get Griffon."  
Gavin's heart leapt. If Griffon was around, that meant, he was probably safe. She'd take care of him, at least for a bit. He just wanted her to pet his hair again and comfort him for a while, easing the pain that still lingered in his limbs.  
  
A moment later, Gavin heard footsteps, then a hand was touching his forehead. "I think his fever is going down.", Griffon said. Gavin leaned into her touch, letting out a quiet, satisfied noise. "Hey, Gavin. You're awake? Can you open your eyes?", she requested, rubbing along his hairline with her thumb.  
Now, that Griffon was the one asking him, he tried, really tried to open his tired eyelids. They finally fluttered open, adjusting to the dimmed light for a moment. He looked up in her eyes, that were filled with sympathy. "You really worried us, Gavin. We were searching for you when the rain started, but we couldn't find you. At first we thought that you'd maybe made it back home, but then we found you later, and you were burning up."  
"I'm sorry.", he croaked out. His mouth was dry and the words hurt him.  
"Don't be. It's okay now. We got somebody to check on you while you were still unconscious. You're gonna be fine in a few days."  
The blonde offered him some food and warm tea that he gladly drank. She stayed with him the whole time, even settling down next to him, pulling him close. That was when Gavin realized that he was laying in a bed, and he suddenly jolted up.  
"What's wrong, Gavin?", she asked him, watching him closely.  
The sudden movement had made him a little dizzy, but he forced the feeling down in order to stare at Griffon. "I- I'm in your house!", he stammered. Her face fell, clearly unhappy with that answer.  
"We couldn't leave you in the cold, not soaking wet and with a fever.", Griffon stated. Her tone left no room for discussion. "It was the only option we had."  
  
Gavin shut his mouth, digging his hands deeply into the blanket that was now pooling around his waist. Looking down on himself, he noticed that he was wearing different clothes now, a well worn old shirt, made of soft material, and some loose fitting sweatpants. He bit down onto his bottom lip. That was probably very unhygienic, but in a odd sense, he was grateful for them. Then, a sudden panic floodes him. He ripped back the sleeves on his arms, looking for his watch. It was gone.  
"Griffon - where's my stuff?", he asked, his voice high pitched, eventhough it hurt even more than speaking normally.  
She shushed him, dragging him back into her side. "Don't worry. We've put everything in a box, so nothing get's lost. Except for your shoes, they aren't dry yet."  
He relaxed slightly, taking in the warmth that Griffon offered. They were quiet for a while, the blonde gently petting the younger over the head occasionally.  
  
In order to keep himself from nodding off again, Gavin started looking around in the room. There wasn't much to look at, because the room itself was rather small. There just wasn't any space left next to the big bed they currently lay upon and a closet standing at the wall next to them. Small things like paintings and tiny wooden objects were hanging from all open spaces at the walls though, and they were interesting enough to keep Gavin's attention for quite a while. He stared a figurine out of red wood, a naked woman with a bird head holding a vase in her hands, when the door opened and a man with a mop of wild, dark hair and a mustache entered the room. He had a multitude of different signs and pictures tattooed into his skin. "Everything all right? Do you two need anything?", he asked, his voice crackling around the edges. His eyes were full of worry, flickering between Griffon and the young boy cuddled into her side.  
Gavin stared at him with wide eyes. It was the scary man from the first day he'd been in the district. He tried to shy away, hiding behind Griffon a little.  
"Gavin, what's wrong?", Griffon wanted to know again, facing the younger by pulling his chin up, so he would meet her eyes. He couldn't say anything.  
A loud sigh could be heard from the man. "I told you, he's afraid of me. This is exactly how he reacted when I first met him."  
"It's okay, Gavin. This is Geoff. He won't hurt you, but he's really worried about you. He lives here, too. It's really okay.", she murmured quietly, comforting Gavin by allowing him to hide behind her.  
"I think we're fine for the moment, Geoff.", she dismissed him and the man left.  
  
  
When Gavin later mustered up the courage to talk to Geoff, when he came in to check on him while Griffon was gone, he realized that yes, Geoff was actually friendly and it hurt his feelings that Gavin had rejected him at first. And now, Gavin felt guilty for judging him without knowing him first. It even turned out that the man was fun to talk to, and he tried his hardest to make Gavin feel good. He soon trusted the man as much as he trusted Griffon.

In the evening, Gavin insisted that he'd move to a different spot. The rest of the house was equally small, just one big room with an oven and a table on one side, a sitting area with different seats on the other side, a bath and a storage room. Thus, he took a blanket and a pillow to one of the couches in the big room, where he made himself a little nest. They ate together around the table, and Gavin learned that it was Geoff who cooked for them, and not Griffon like he'd assumed before. They had potatoes and corn, even some meat that was cut into small chunks, but strongly flavored with different spices. Then Gavin was tucked into his nest by the two of them, before Griffon light up the fire in the oven once more, before the two adults left for their bedroom.  
Yes, Gavin thought, eventhough he wasn't at home with his parents, this was pretty nice.  



	3. Chapter 3

  
When Gavin awoke from his surprisingly deep slumber, the house was quiet. He was still lying on the couch in the small living room of Griffon's and Geoff's house. There wasn't a window in one of the walls, but a crack just above the entrance door let in enough orangeyellow sunlight to let him know that it was way into the day. Exhaustion from the stress of the previous weeks and the fever truly have done him in.  
He sat up with sore limbs, looking around in the room. There was a large bowl on the table at the opposite wall of the room that hadn't been there when Gavin fell asleep the day before, and Geoff sat in a corner, hunched over a small sidetable. He was focused on his work, that was spread out in small pieces on a white sheet, illuminated with a bright light. Gavin smiled weakly, when he realized that the man hadn't noticed him yet. Quietly, he shrugged the rest of the blanket off himself and let his feet fall onto the wooden floor as quiet as possible. Barely moving at all, he heaved his body off the couch, hoping it wouldn't make any squeaking noises. He was lucky, there wasn't any sound at all. Gavin snuck over to the man, very slowly, one feet carefully placed in front of the other. Curiosity kept him from making a loud noise to scare the working man, because he looked over his shoulder and watched him as he turned over tiny cogs with a pair of tweezers.  
Gavin simply stared at the tiny handiwork that was carefully laid out in front of the man for a few minutes, watching him putting the smallest pieces together with a steady hand. "Wow.", me muttered out finally.  
  
Geoff, who still hadn't noticed him up until that point, shot straight up, banging his knee on the table and sending the small pieces flying over the sheet widely. "Good Lord, Gavin!", he screamed, and Gavin shrunk back. Guilt ate at him immediately. "I'm sorry, Geoff, I didn't - I'm sorry.", he stammered.  
"No, Gavin, it's-", Geoff crouched down, facing the young boy at eyelevel. "I don't mind. You just startled me. Make a noise before you sneak up on me next time, yeah? It's really okay. I promise." The older man held up his hands in front of him, just like you do when you calm down wild animals. Gavin still just stared at him.  
The man sighed and hung his head. "I'm sorry, Gavin. I didn't want to yell at you. I'm glad that you're finally awake, honestly."  
Gavin chewed on his thumbnail for a second, a habit that he'd picked up over the course of the past days. His mother would be furious when he'd get back. "What was all that?", he asked in a tiny voice. He was still wary of the situation, His initial instinct being to throw out all the trust he'd developed for the man just the evening before. But he forced that feeling down, wanting to trust him more, for Griffon's sake.  
Geoff looked up happily, a big smile spreading across his face. "That are the parts of Griffon's pocket watch. I'm fixing it for her.", he said, proudly.  
The eyes of the young boy widened in surprise. "You can do that?", he asked, clearly not believing the man at all. Geoff nodded. "Yep."  
  
In one smooth motion, Geoff pushed himself back up and turned over to the chaos on the sheet. "It's what I initially learned for a year or two, before I changed my mind and tried something else." He glanced over his shoulder to look at Gavin, who still stood in awe behind him. "What else did you do?", the boy asked.  
"I tried many things, Gavin. Whaddaya say, you get changed into something warm and eat some stew, and when your're tucked back into the bed, I'll tell you everything you want to know."  
The boy almost tripped over his own feet in his hurry to get to the table. When he situated himself in one of the various different chairs, he reached for a bowl and Geoff scooped a big spoonfull of stew in it. Gavin ate the still warm meal with a contented hum. Geoff took his place across from him and watched the boy eat, resting his head on his hands.  
  
  
When Gavin was done, he pushed the bowl away from him slightly, looking through the room once again. "Say, where is Griffon?", he then asked.  
"At work. She watched over you all morning, and when I came home, I took over for her. She was a bit sad that she hadn't had a chance to talk to you this morning.", Geoff dutifully reported.  
"What? But what time is it, then?", Gavin wondered. Had he really been asleep for so long, again?  
Geoff chuckled slightly. "Almost 4. She'll be back in an hour or so. Likely a bit early, though.", he added with a wink.  
  
As predicted, only two minutes later, the door opened, but instead of the tall blonde, Jack entered the house. Without any hesitation or announcement beforehand, Gavin noticed. Strange.  
Geoff just stood up from his chair, while Gavin had slipped further under the blanket, in which he had nestled in once again. Geoff had insisted after feeling the temperature of his forehead. Apparently his fever hadn't gone down entirely. "Jack! Good to see you. How's it going? Oh, did you meet our guest already? This is Gavin. He's from the other side.", Geoff introduced.  
"Yes, actually. I've met him, when Griffon sent me that one day. Talked a bit." The redhead raised his hand and waved towards the boy on the sofa with a big smile. "Hey Gavin. Hope you're feeling better?  
Gavin nodded, just a little though. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the man.  
  
The adults took place at the table, Geoff offering the other adult some drink he'd apparently stored in a clear bottle in the highest cupboard in the backmost corner, so he had to climb on a chair in order to reach it. He poured a generous amount in two glasses, then served one to his friend.  
Listening to them soon got boring, so Gavin's mind drifted off. He tried to figure out when exactly he could leave the house. When would they let him return to the wall, so he could wait there for his rescue? How long did it even take for a fever to go down? He bit his lip and tried to count the days he'd been trapped over here. He wasn't quite sure, but a thought nagged at the back of his brain. How many days would it take for his parents to give up on him? Would they just stop searching, lose all hope? Because really, the city wasn't that big and Gavin himself wouldn't be stupid enough to take off into the wild. After all, there were dangerous people out there. People trapped in high walls to keep them in their places. Like the closed off district Gavin was in right now.  
  
The thought was strange in itself. Just how big were the districts? he remembered Griffon mentioning a forest, where the lumbers and hunters worked, fields and gardening areas, even an entire other town, all within this one wall. There was something entirely off about this, so much Gavin knew. He'd make sure to find out more about this, as soon as he'd be on his foot again.  
  
  
When Griffon came home, the first thing she did was check in on Gavin. She, too, felt his forehead for a raised temperature, and she narrowed her eyes a bit, when she pulled her hand away. "Still not going down. I think we should have Burnie check him again.", she announced. Geoff walked over to the two, leaving Jack at the table. "You think? He said it could take a while. He's gonna be fine.", he argued.  
The look Griffon gave him could crush boulders, but the tattooed man didn't back down either. Then she sighed. "Fine. I'll give it another day, or I'm getting Burnie."  
Geoff nodded in agreement, then leaned in and caught her lips in a soft kiss. "Alright. One more day."  
  
Gavin made some space on the couch for Griffon to sit, and she squeezed in the space right behind him. Gavin settled his head on her leg and cuddled in close to her, while she pet his hair slowly. In a low voice, she told him all about her day at work, explained some of the more tricky processes in detail and drew the things she crafted in colorful words out for him. Then she promised him to show him, if he'd be up to it.  
And yes, Gavin agreed, he'd love to see all her crafts one day. They sounded amazing.  
  
  
  
Four days passed until Gavin was allowed to leave the house again. His fever went down slowly, but getting the doctor, a man named Burnie, wasn't necessary a second time. In those four days, Gavin learned a lot about Griffon and Geoff, and about the district in general. He learned that the pair was well respected among the community and had a great number of friends, who all could just pop in whenever they'd have a desire to meet up with them, thus the large amount of chairs in their small hut. Once forming a friendship was apparently a free pass to enter the houses of each other, there was a great deal of trust within the people of the district. Of course, everybody knew everyone else, so thievery wasn't exactly possible.  
Gavin had never been alone in the house once since he got there. There was always somebody around watching over him, Griffon and Geoff for most of the time, but sometimes some of their other friends like Jack or Joel, a scruffy tall man with dark hair and a great sense of humor, covered for them for an hour or so. Gavin got to meet a great deal of people, who all seemed to be friendly, and resulted in Gavin trusting the people of the closed district a little bit more. Most importantly, he learned that most of the rumors from the city were just that: rumors. They were all healthy and independent, if a little dirty after a long day at work. Most of them had real jobs after all, working with hands rather than with their mind, but they didn't just let the dirt stick to them. In fact, they scrubbed themselves clean as soon as they got home.  
Gavin silently wondered just how much of the things he knew about the district was wrong. And he made it a goal to find out, as long as he was stuck here.  
  
Neither Geoff nor Griffon seemed too happy when Gavin left their home in the morning of the  fourth day. They made him promise to join them for dinner and sleep on their couch at night. In addition to that, Griffon made him swear that he wouldn't try to wait out a rainstorm outside anymore, but rather run to their house as quickly as his lags would let him. And Gavin was happy to agree.  
However, the following three days, Gavin spent most of his time back at his place next to the big gate. All his plans to explore the district and finding out more about it was shoved aside as soon as the wall came in sight. He missed his mother and father more and more, and every time he entered the small house a few blocks down, it felt like somebody knotted together all his insides. He liked Griffon and Geoff, he really did, but they were not his parents and Gavin certainly didn't belong there. He did feel bad whenever he ate with them without ever returning something. So on day four he asked Griffon if he could do something for them. Anything at all would be fine.  
  
The woman smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "If you want to, you can go get water from the well. It's cleaner than the water from the tap, and it tastes better. Geoff always uses it when he cooks.", she offered. Then she showed him a bucket and a almost empty basin hidden behind a small door in a cabinet. "Before you put the fresh water in, make sure to drain out all the old water. Just turn this knob right here, and turn it back when the water is gone." She pointed to a metal knob right besides the basin.  
Gavin followed it with his eyes and realized that it would lead to a valve which connected to the rest of the pipes. The water wouldn't go to waste. A clever idea, really.  
"I can do that.", he smiled, and once again, Griffon ruffled through his hair. "Thank you."  
  
  
Gavin managed to fill in three buckets full of water into the basin before his arms simply refused to carry one more through the streets. The handle bit in his hands, and his shoulders hurt, not used to physical labor at all. Once again, he found himself admiring the people of the district for their hard way at life and how easy they made it look. It all seemed so far behind the advanced lifestyle of the city.  
But he wasn't done just yet. He still felt like he hadn't done enough for his great hosts. So he attempted cleaning the house, sweeping the floor clean with a broom and nicely putting away all the stuff that he'd left lying around. He even tried to clean the dishes, but after the third plate, he gave up and just let the rest sit in the water. That would show the dirt.  
He still wasn't in the mood to go squatting out at the gates. So he just hang around in the house until Geoff came back.  
  
"Oh hey, buddy. What are you doing here already?", the man asked with a grin.  
Gavin fidgeted a bit in his seat. He'd taken one of the books from the shelf and started reading. "I was just- I didn't want to- you know?", he stammered out, leaving a wide room for interpretation.  
Geoff nodded. "Oh. Okay. Had a good time then?", he asked, looking around in the house, noticing the changes in it. "You cleaned up.", he said.  
"I was just- I wanted to- so I-" Gavin rolled his eyes. He was just great at voicing his thoughts today. But Geoff seemed to understand him nonetheless. He smiled and pulled him over in a small hug, before rubbing his knuckles over Gavin's scalp playfully. Gavin made a few high noises in protest, until the man let him go.  
  
Geoff started to cook and Gavin tried to help him as good as possible. It was actually quite fun, Gavin liked it. But then, Geoff asked him a question that he hadn't anticipated. "So, what are you going to do next? You gonna learn a craft?"  
The boys eyes went huge. "Why would I- I need to wait for my parents! I can't miss them!", he panicked, dropping the spoon he was currently holding into the sauce.  
Geoff frowned. "You weren't waiting today.", he pointed out.  
His breath began to quicken and Gavin took a step back from the man. "Not true! I was just - I wanted to help! I can't stay here!" He was almost at the door. Geoff followed him slowly, not making any quick movements, his hands raised in defence.  
"I don't want to- I need to- Mum and Dad will get me. I need to wait.", Gavin breathed out, very quietly. Then Geoff was at his side and pulled him in, trapping him in his arms. He rubbed big circles into the boys back trying to calm him down, but Gavin just worked himself up in a panicked state of mind, shivering and sobbing and suddenly clinging into Geoff's shirt. "I just wanna go home.", he sobbed, over and over again.  
"It's okay buddy. I didn't want to scare you. I just thought you'd like to stay here, is all. You don't have to. You can go home. It's okay. You don't have to learn a craft."  
  
  
Gavin let Geoff calm him down, but he still left afterwards. He suddenly felt even more imposing than he did before. So the only logical solution was leaving. He didn't go to eat with them that evening, even going as far as hiding from Griffon when she came looking for him. He broke his promise and slept in the streets rather than going back to the warm sofa.  
But somehow, when he woke up, he was back inside with the same blanket thrown over him. Also, a very angry looking tall blonde was looming over him, giving him the death stare. Gavin didn't dare to move.  
  
"Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me? You promised to come back here. Don't make me put a leash on you.", she threatened.  
Gavin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get a single word out, the woman clamped her hand over his mouth. "No. There's nothing left to say. You do whatever you want, but you eat and sleep with us. And you come here when it rains. There is no discussion in it. And now, let's get breakfast."  
  
  
  
Two whole weeks passed without much happening. Gavin spent the night at his hosts house, eat with them, camped out at the wall, returned to eat, helped them with whatever needed to be done and met even more of their friends. Not one evening passed without somebody coming to visit them. One day, Jack even brought his son Ray, and he got along with Gavin pretty well. Gavin learned that Ray had begun to work at the gardens, mostly growing fruit and vegetables, but he had one corner where he was allowed to grow flowers. That's what he actually wanted to do, he explained, not only to have all the helpful plants for the doctors, but also have a few flowers he could sell those who were in love. A great idea, in Gavin's mind.  
Another day, Gavin met the boy from the Blacksmith, when he delivered new hinges for Griffon's work. He was nice, a little rough around the edges, but overall a good guy that Gavin would like to meet again another day. His name was Michael, he had brown curls and dimples, that showed as soon as Griffon spoke to him. Maybe he had a crush on her. Okay, he definitely had a crush on her, Gavin concluded, as he practically swooned when she pat over his head, messing up his hair like she did with Gavin.  
  
Then, one evening, Gavin could hear the adults talk quietly to each other before he entered. It wasn't his intention to eavesdrop on them, it really wasn't, but then they mentioned his name. And Gavin stopped at the door and listened.  
"No, I know that, Geoff. But we can't just kick him out! Gavin's just a kid, for fucks sake."  
"I don't want to kick him out either! Just - listen. We can't feed him anymore. It's not like I don't want him around."  
"Oh, you don't want to kick him out, but feeding him isn't necessary?"  
"That's not what I meant and you know that! Don't put words in my mouth, please. If he just -"  
"No, Geoff. That's not how it works. You and I agreed that he's best off here with us. We took him in and now we have to take responsibility."  
"I know that. But Griffon. We can't afford to feed him anymore. No, don't interrupt me, listen to me. I've got it figured out."  
Griffon sighed and there was a long pause, before Geoff spoke up again: "Gavin can read. He can write. He has a very specific set off skills, and he can work with that. Now, think about it. Who here has an entire house to himself, stuffed to the roof with books that he needs to go through, and is off well enough to feed one extra mouth?"  
There was a sharp intake of breath. " _Ryan_?! Out of all people, you want Gavin to work for Ryan?" Griffon sounded alarmed. Gavin already didn't like this Ryan Guy.  
"Yes, Ryan. No, really. Think about it. He's on our side, he fights for the same cause. He's probably lonely, since his father died, but now he has to do twice the work. And Gavin can read and write, he's ideal for the job. There's at least one spare room in his house, and we can't make Gavin sleep on the couch forever. And the Haywoods always had way to much money, since they're sitting between us and the city, so if there's one place for him, it's under Ryan's wings. Also, he might be the only one who's able to help Gavin back home."  
There was another long pause, where nobody said anything. Gavin bit onto the knuckle of his thumb.  
"You're right. But let's talk to Ryan first, before we confront Gavin."  
  



End file.
